Page 4 of The Hunt

He just didn’t know.The scent hadn’t changed either.Jaxson tried to stay on alert, just in case they were attacked.

Calliope didn’t say a word.They kept walking in a straight line, a circle, or zigzagging, for all he knew.Randomly, he kept looking in her direction.Neither of them said a word.He had a feeling this was dangerous.

“What were you doing?”he asked.“I mean, before you woke up here?”

“I was sleeping.I had a long day, and I went to bed early.”

“Me too,” Jaxson said.He’d been training with all the other wolves, honing in on his connection with his wolf, so when it came to changing, it didn’t hurt.Sometimes, even after three years, and changing once a month, it still hurt like a son of a bitch.Not that he’d complain to anyone, and certainly not his dad, who also happened to be the alpha of the pack.

“It’s exhausting, right?Trying to figure out your place?”Calliope asked.

He agreed.

“I know a lot of the pack didn’t want me around because of ...well, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.”Some of the pack thought he was nuts in not trying to pursue Calliope.Trying to make a mating work was more important than ending up on The Hunt.

It was like the bogeyman for wolves.The Hunt.

He didn’t realize how real it could be until this moment, and at that precise second, he heard the snap of a twig and instantly reached out for Calliope.She had already tensed up.

“Did you hear that?”she asked, whispering.

He nodded his head and tried not to make a sound as he kept her close and moved in a circle, trying to figure out what it could have been.

A twig snap suggested something large, something ...hunter-y.He didn’t want them to be the prey.They were the predators.

“So, uh, I kind of heard that anything can attack?I mean, I think I might have heard, but I didn’t exactly hear it from anyone who has actually been here,” Calliope said.

“It’s a fight for survival.It’s why it’s named The Hunt.”

No one appeared.No threat.

Letting go of her arm, he watched, and then suddenly, a small bunny appeared.

“Aw, he’s so cute,” Calliope said.

The bunny didn’t stay long and started hopping away.

“Come on,” Jaxson said.“I think we need to keep moving.”And with that, she didn’t argue as he took her hand and they started walking again.

He didn’t have a clue which direction to head, but it was good to just keep walking, and if he was honest, it was also good to be holding her hand.

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